Operation Momentum
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Operation Momentum
Operation Momentum was a guerrilla training program during the Laotian Civil War. This Central Intelligence Agency operation raising a guerrilla force of Hmong hill-tribesmen in northeastern Laos was planned by James William Lair and carried out by the Thai Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit. Begun on 17 January 1961, the three-day ''Auto Defense Choc'' (Self Defense Shock) course graduated a clandestine guerrilla army of 5,000 warriors by 1 May, and of 9,000 by August. It scored its first success the day after the first ADC company graduated, on 21 January 1961, when 20 ADC troopers ambushed and killed 15 Pathet Lao. The Momentum technique of parachuting in equipment to train guerrillas was so successful it would be copied widely by the Americans during the Vietnam War. The United States Special Forces used the Momentum pre-palleted equipment and their own cadre of instructors for such copycat programs as Operation Pincushion, and for organizing the Degars of South Vietnam. The ...
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Auto Defense Choc
The Auto Defense de Choc (ADC) was a militia training program for the Royal Lao Armed Forces. Begun by a French military mission in 1955, its 100-man companies were placed under command of the local Military Region commander when trained. By 1 September 1959, 20 ADC companies were in training, and there were 16,000 ADC soldiers nationwide. When Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives Theodore Shackley, James William Lair and others slipped into the Kingdom of Laos in the early 1960s, they instituted an American version of the ADC dependent on pre-packed airdropped materiel. Using a three-day training schedule in Operation Momentum, Shackley, Lair and others, worked with Vang Pao to raise a guerrilla force of 5,000 troops in several months. The ADC concept's success helped it spread. The Royal Lao Government (RLG) set up its own version. U.S. Special Forces (USSF) copied the ADC for Operation White Star and Operation Pincushion, and to organize the Degar in South Vietnam. In 196 ...
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Continental Air Services, Inc
Continental Air Services, Inc, better known as CASI, was a subsidiary airline of Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started ... set up to provide operations and airlift support in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. CASI was formed as the South-East Asia Division of Continental in April 1965 with operations starting in September 1965 using approximately 22, mainly STOL, aircraft. Continental formed CASI by paying over a million US dollars for BirdAir (Bird and Sons) and its 350 employees and 22 aircraft. CASI aircraft in Laos were registered as Air Continental. As of 1998 Continental Airlines still operated in the Pacific Islands. In 2010 Continental merged into United Airlines. Organization CASI, as a Nevada Corporation, was officially located at One ...
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Regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one geographical area, by a leader who was often also the feudal lord ''in capite'' of the soldiers. Lesser barons of knightly rank could be expected to muster or hire a company or battalion from their manorial estate. By the end of the 17th century, infantry regiments in most European armies were permanent units, with approximately 800 men and commanded by a colonel. Definitions During the modern era, the word "regiment" – much like "corps" – may have two somewhat divergent meanings, which refer to two distinct roles: # a front-line military formation; or # an administrative or ceremonial unit. In many armies, the first role has been assumed by independent battalions, battlegroups, task forces, brigades and other, similarly s ...
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Battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are exclusively infantry, while in others battalions are unit-level organizations. The word battalion came into the English language in the 16th century from the French language ( French: ''bataillon'' meaning "battle squadron"; Italian: ''battaglione'' meaning the same thing; derived from the Vulgar Latin word ''battalia'' meaning "battle" and from the Latin word ''bauttere'' meaning "to beat" or "to strike"). The first use of the word in English was in the 1580s. Description A battalion comprises two or more primary mission companies which are often of a common type (e.g., infantry, tank, or maintenance), although there are exceptions such as combined arms battalions in the U.S. Army. In addition to the primary mission companies, a battal ...
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International Agreement On The Neutrality Of Laos
The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos is an international agreement signed in Geneva on July 23, 1962 between 14 states, including Laos, as a result of the International Conference on the Settlement of the Laotian Question, which lasted from May 16, 1961 to July 23, 1962. Union of Burma, Cambodia, Canada, the People's Republic of China, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, France, India, Polish People's Republic, the Republic of Vietnam, Thailand, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States signed the declaration. It and the statement of neutrality by the Royal Government of Laos of July 9, 1962 came into force as an international agreement on July 23, the date of signature. Background After a brief occupation of Laos by the Japanese at the end of World War II and a declaration of independence by Laotian nationalists, the French reoccupied Laos and the rest of French Indochina, which included Vietnam and Cambodia. In the following insurgency, the ...
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Lao Theung
The Lao Theung or Lao Thoeng (Lao: ລາວເທິງ ) is one of the traditional divisions of ethnic groups living in Laos (the others being the Lao Loum and the Lao Soung). It literally indicates the "midland Lao", and comprises a variety of different ethnic groups of mostly Austro-Asiatic origin. In 1993, the Lao Theung formed 24% of the country's population. History Lao Theung are largely of Mon-Khmer stock, and are believed to be the autochthonous population of mainland Southeast Asia, having migrated south in pre-historical time. Their legendary origin is related in the "Pumpkin Story" in James McCarthy's account of 1894. Although they now live in the higher uplands of Laos, they were originally paddy rice farmers, until displaced by the influx of Lao Loum migration into southeast Asia from Southern China. See upland rice farmers' challenges. Culture Within Laos, the Lao Theung are sometimes referred to by the pejorative term ''khaa'' (Lao: ຂ້າ), meaning "slav ...
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Hill Tribe
Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with steep temperature drops between day and night, high winds, runoff from melting snow and rain that cause high levels of erosion and thin, immature soils. Climate change is likely to place considerable stress on the mountain environment and the people who live there. People have used or lived in the mountains for thousands of years, first as hunter-gatherers and later as farmers and pastoralists. The isolated communities are often culturally and linguistically diverse. Today about 720 million people, or 12% of the world's population, live in mountain regions, many of them economically and politically marginalized. The mountain residents have adapted to the conditions, but in the developing world they often suffer from food insecurity and poor ...
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Degar
Montagnard () is an umbrella term for the various indigenous peoples of the Central Highlands (Vietnam), Central Highlands of Vietnam. The French language, French term () signifies a mountain dweller, and is a carryover from the French Indochina, French colonial period in Vietnam. In Vietnamese language, Vietnamese, they are known by the term người Thượng (), although this term can also be applied to other List of ethnic groups in Vietnam, minority ethnic groups in Vietnam. In modern Vietnam, both terms are archaic, and indigenous ethnic groups are referred to as ''đồng bào'' () or ''người dân tộc thiểu số'' (). Earlier they were referred to pejoratively as the mọi. Sometimes the term Degar is used for the group as well. Most of those living in the United States refer to themselves as Montagnards, while those living in Vietnam refer to themselves by their individual ethnic group. The Montagnards are most covered in English-language scholarship for their pa ...
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Operation Pincushion
Operation Pincushion was a covert training program for hill tribe recruits to become guerrilla soldiers during the Laotian Civil War. Run by United States Special Forces and funded by the Central Intelligence Agency, it trained 12 companies of irregulars in southern Laos between December 1961 and September 1962. These guerrilla forces were near the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and intended to secure the Royal Lao Government's hold on the Bolovens Plateau. Although copied from the CIA's Operation Momentum, the Green Berets' training program ran with limited success, due to cultural influences in the recruits' backgrounds. The adoption of the International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos in July 1962 doomed Operation Pincushion, as it called for withdrawal of all foreign troops from the Kingdom of Laos by October of the same year. Pincushion training ended 14 September 1962 and the Green Beret trainers then withdrew from Laos. Background The Kingdom of Laos emerged from the First Indoch ...
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Pallet
A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a front loader, a jacking device, or an erect crane. A pallet is the structural foundation of a unit load, which allows handling and storage efficiencies. Goods in shipping containers are often placed on a pallet secured with strapping, stretch wrap or shrink wrap and shipped. Since its invention in the twentieth century, its use has dramatically supplanted older forms of crating like the wooden box and the wooden barrel, as it works well with modern packaging like corrugated boxes and intermodal containers commonly used for bulk shipping. In addition, pallet collars can be used to support and protect items shipped and stored on pallets. While most pallets are wooden, pallets can also be made of plastic, metal, paper, and recycled materials. Overview Containerization for transport has spurred the use of pallets because sh ...
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United States Special Forces
The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counterinsurgency, special reconnaissance, counterterrorism, information operations, counterproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and security force assistance. The unit emphasizes language, cultural, and training skills in working with foreign troops; recruits are required to learn a foreign language as part of their training and must maintain knowledge of the political, economic, and cultural complexities of the regions in which they are deployed. Other Special Forces missions, known as secondary missions, include combat search and rescue (CSAR), counter-narcotics, hostage rescue, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian demining, information operations, ...
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Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao ( lo, ປະເທດລາວ, translit=Pa thēt Lāo, translation=Lao Nation), officially the Lao People's Liberation Army, was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power in 1975, after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists. During the civil war, it was effectively organized, equipped and even led by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). They fought against the anti-communist forces in the Vietnam War. Eventually, the term became the generic name for Laotian communists. The most important source of military aid to the movement (as was also the case for the Vietnamese communists) was China; under orders from Mao Zedong, the People's Liberation Army provided 115,000 guns, 920,000 grenades and 170 million bullets, and trained more than 700 of its military officers. Organization The political ...
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